Bloggers Collaborate Together To Save Lives

Everyone of us can save some lives if we want to. In fact, blood donation is one such opportunity to save lives. So, when Grace from Working With Grace mentioned that she wanted to go for blood donation, we decided to join in too!
Altogether, there were 3 of us Bloggers [Grace, Celestine, and Jacqueline] whom were supposed to be donating blood [less myself because I am not able to donate any blood till my 1 year waiting period is over].

By the way, I have donated blood for 11 times already and once my 1 year waiting period is over, I am so going to donate blood before the year comes to a close. Anybody want to join me?

In this blog entry, I will attempt to share with you the Bloggers' experience of donating blood and some myths + facts about donating blood.

By the way, we went to the Bloodbank @ Dhoby Ghautthat was recently opened in September 2012 and I seriously applaud the move because now, we have 3 places where we can donate blood; one at Outram, one at Woodlands, and one at Dhoby Ghaut [right smack in the city]! Honestly, I really like the idea of a Bloodbank in town because it is extremely accessible and convenient. Not only that, the Bloodbank @ Dhoby Ghaut opens everyday except Thursday and Public Holidays from 12pm to 8pm! So that means if you're working in the CBD area and you would like to donate blood, you can pop by after office hours!

As with all blood donations, every blood donor has to first register and fill up a health questionnaire/form. If you are a first-time blood donor, you will be given a special badge to put on so that the nurses and doctors know that its your first time and trust me, they will definitely handle you with special care.

After registration, you will also be given a really cool Blood Donor Card which is printed and issued on the spot. My Blood Donor Card is the old version and Baby's Blood Donor Card is the latest version.

Next up, you will be sent to the Medical Screening Room where a Medical Officer/Doctor will check if you are well and fit enough to donate blood. This is also probably the stage where certain people whom are found unsuitable to donate blood will be rejected. There are a few reasons why certain people are found unsuitable to donate blood. These reasons vary and they can be found on Health Sciences Authority Website.

Once you have been cleared by the Medical Officer/Doctor, you will then need to do a blood test. This is also the stage where people still can get rejected especially if their haemoglobin level is low.

After successfully clearing the blood examination stage, there is just one last step and that is the process of blood donation. At this juncture, first-timers will be extremely nervous and it is perfectly understandable. However, you might still be rejected at this point if your veins are nowhere to be found or are unsuitable.

The nurse will first sanitize your arm and thereafter, inject a local anesthetic into your vein, thereby numbing you when the needle is poked into your vein. Of course, the feeling of the needle going into your vein will feel weird but if you're afraid of needles, you should look away, less you tense up and panic.

Once the needle is in your vein, blood will be drawn from you and the amount to be drawn is dependent on how heavy you weigh. If you weigh between 45 and 50 kg, 350ml of blood will be taken. If you weigh above 50kg, 450 ml of blood will be taken.

Once, you have donated your blood, the nurse will bandage you up and you will then be ushered to the refreshments corner where you can have some light snacks before leaving. Do eat a little because after donating blood, you will feel a bit lightheaded and if you are feeling unwell, quickly sound off.

If all is well and good for you, congratulations, you have just saved 3 lives!

Here are some facts about donating blood which will dispel the doubts and myths you may have about blood donation:
All blood collection instruments are disposed permanently after each use.
All blood collections are conducted by qualified & trained staff.
Blood donations do not cause weight gain.

The don'ts of donating blood:
Don't donate blood if you are feeling unwell.
Don't donate blood if you do not satisfy the requirements for donating blood.
Don't lift heavy stuffs with the hand that you just donated blood with. If not, you will see a blue black bruise.

We hope that through this blog entry, you would have been assured that blood donation is extremely safe and that every potential blood donor are assessed on a stringent set of criteria and are certified fit before undergoing blood donation. So, do your part now and save some lives! :)